The Health and Personal Social Services (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004

Assignments to closed lists: determinations of the assessment panel

35.—(1) This paragraph applies where most or all of the providers of essential services (or their equivalent) whose practice premises are within the area of a Board have closed their lists of patients.

(2) If the Board wishes to assign new patients to contractors which have closed their lists of patients, it must prepare a proposal to be considered by the assessment panel which must include details of those contractors to which the Board wishes to assign patients.

(3) The Board must ensure that the assessment panel is appointed to consider and determine its proposal made under sub-paragraph (2), and the composition of the assessment panel shall be as described in paragraph 31(5).

(4) The Board shall notify in writing –

(a) contractors or Article 15B providers whose practice premises are within the Board’s area which –

(i) have closed their list of patients, and

(ii) may, in the opinion of the Board, be affected by the determination of the assessment panel; and

(b) the Local Medical Committee for the area of the Board,

that it has referred the matter to the assessment panel.

(5) In reaching its determination, the assessment panel shall have regard to relevant factors including –

(a) whether the Board has attempted to secure the provision of essential services (or their equivalent) for new patients other than by means of their assignment to contractors with closed lists of patients; and

(b) the workload of those contractors likely to be affected by any decision to assign such patients to their list of patients.

(6) The assessment panel shall reach a determination within the period of 28 days beginning with and including the date on which the panel was appointed.

(7) The assessment panel shall determine whether the Board may assign patients to contractors which have closed their lists of patients; and if it determines that the Board may make such assignments, it shall also determine those contractors to which patients may be assigned.

(8) The assessment panel may determine that the Board may assign patients to contractors other than those contractors specified by the Board in its proposal under sub-paragraph (2), as long as the contractors were notified under sub-paragraph (4)(a).

(9) The assessment panel’s determination shall include its comments on the matters specified in sub-paragraph (5), and shall be notified in writing to those contractors which were notified under sub-paragraph (4)(a).